ICYMI: RTO = Org Change, Turnover Tsunami, LOL

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1. Returning to the Office Is The Epitome of Organizational Change. Communicate It That Way.

“Back-to-the-office communication is shaping up to be one of the most challenging undertakings ever for internal communicators, far more complex and fraught with peril than most are prepared for,” writes Shel Holtz, O.G. internal comms pro.

In a lengthy article about how to communicate about your organization’s emerging work environment, Holtz provides several positions internal comms pros should take, among them:

• Soliciting feedback from employees

• Acknowledging employee concerns and preferences

• Setting clear expectations of the new work environment

• Being a part of the conversation that designs the new “place” or office setting

• Understanding causes of burnout and options for recovery

• Resetting and communicating boundaries

• Being aware of the different needs of different generations

• Helping remote workers be seen and heard

Ultimately, “viewing return to work as an organizational change will go a long way to avoiding the consequences of simply throwing employees into the deep end of the new-normal pool,” says Holtz.

Every employee communications team should be working right now on a strategic back-to-the-office plan that goes far beyond articles and text messages. Listening is the most important activity to build into the plan, along with ways to operationalize the messages the plan includes (including recruiting managers to be part of the solution).

This long-form article is worth your time.

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2. Brace for the ‘Turnover Tsunami’

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“Turnover tsunami.” “The Great Resignation.” “The Season of Attrition.” Call it what you want, but don’t ignore it.

• More than half of employees surveyed in North America plan to look for a new job in 2021, according to a new report, while separate research shows that a quarter of workers plan to quit their jobs outright once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and recruiting efforts ramp up.

Back in April I wrote about the impending wave of job quitters (see below) and now the time is upon us. Your recruiting department is about to get crushed.

Employees have myriad reasons for job-hopping, top among them:

• Burnout

• Seeking better compensation and benefits

• Wanting better work/life balance

• Feeling disconnected from colleagues and the company

• Diminished company culture since the pandemic started

• Limited opportunities for advancement

According to the Labor Department, nearly four million Americans left their jobs in April — the highest number on record. Economists say several factors are at play, among them:

• There’s a backlog of quitters. During the height of the pandemic, fewer people quit their jobs than would have otherwise. Now, with the economy recovering, many feel more comfortable leaving their jobs.

• Low pandemic spending left some workers with savings. That gives them more of a cushion to cover a stretch of unemployment.

• Some workers have reassessed their lives. They may have decided to spend more time with their families, start businesses, look for a job that allows remote work or change careers. (NYT)

Data: Indeed. Chart: Axios Visuals

Companies are on their backfoot. HR departments are managing a triple-whammy of high levels of attrition, the need to backfill those roles, and the need to fill new roles.

Internal Comms has a role to play in the retention game.

3. Can Internal Comms Thwart Post-Pandemic Job-Hopping?

To help mitigate the balloon in attrition rates, employee comms can contribute to at least five efforts that might sway employees who are on the fence.

Assisting with retaining employees is a very real business outcome, even if execs are just now coming to that realization.

• Click here to read about the five comms efforts employee comms can contribute to or lead to minimize attrition.

4. Industry News

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• Long-time internal comms pro Jeff Corbin muses on the recent spate of employee comms company mergers (CMSWire)

• Templafy, a content storage and access platform, just closed a round of funding for $60 million (Crunchbase)

• Six Ways Hybrid Workspaces are Changing Communications (Digital Signage Today)

• A New App Will Help Employers Verify Workers' Vaccine Status (Axios)

• Do Chance Meetings at the Office Boost Innovation? There’s No Evidence of It. (NYT)

5. Heh

Hel Reynolds

Thanks for reading!

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Disclaimer: Besides running Mister Editorial, I work in employee comms at Splunk. The views in this newsletter are my own.